Improvement in car-brakes



' ZShe et s -Sheet I. A. F. GUE 80 G. F. FIELD. I

CAR-BRAKES.

No.184;614. Patented Nov. 21, 18'Z6.

Fig.1-

' z Sheets-SheetZ. A. F. GUE & G. F. FIELD GAR-BRAKES.

m.1a4,e14; Patented 1m. 21, 1876'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT F. GUE AND GEORGE F. FIELD, or BOSTON, MAss, ASSIGNORS 0F ONE-THIRD THEIR RIGHT TO THOMAS N. HART, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT m CAR-BRAKES.'

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [S4,6l4, dated November 21, 1876; application filed April 3, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ALBERT F. GUE and GEORGE h. FIELD, both of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,

have invented anew and useful Improvement in RailroadOar Brakes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification.

In these drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view, showing the arrangement under the body of a raiiroad'car of the several parts constituting our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the mechanism for connecting one of the axles of the locomotive or tender to the longitudinal rod. Fig. 3 is a view, in isometrical perspective, of the sheave upon the axle, and the mechanism for connecting it with the same. Fig. 4 is a view, in section, of the tensionspool on the longitudinal rod. Fig. 5 is a View, in isometrical perspective, of the mechanism for rotating the rod by hand; and Fig.

6 is a sectional view of the manner of coupling the sections of the rod.

Like letters indicate the same parts in these several figures.

This invention relates to that class of power railroad-brakes in which the power for applying the same is derived from the rotation of any one of the axles of the car by means of the'arrangement of a loose sheave or'drum upon the said axle, which sheave can be made to rotate with the axle by means of suitable friction-clutch mechanism under the control of the engineer, and which sheave has attached thereto a chain, connected to the brakebeams, so that on winding up the chain by the rotation of the axle and sheave all the brakes will be applied.

In railroad-car brakes of this class the drum or sheave is usually placed upon the hind axle of the locomotive, and the brake-beams of the several trucks are connected together by chains. In a train of any length it requires a certain time to take up the slack of these connecting-chains, and consequently all the brakes are not applied simultaneously and with equal force to the forward and rear cars, and it is, therefore, difficult to stop a long train with this power-brake quickly and without shocks and jars.

This invention has for its object the avoidance of this defect in. power railroad-brakes of the kind before referred to, and enables all the brakes to be applied simultaneously and with equal force to all the cars, no matter what may be the length of the train, and to be applied either hy the engineer or from any other point on the train.

To this end the invention consists, first, in providing one of the axles of one of the trucks of each car in the train with a drum or sheave,

loose upon the axle, upon which sheave a chain, connected to the brake-beams of the car, is wound, so as to cause the application of the brakes when the sheave is made to rotate with the axle on which it is placed by V friction-clutch mechanism, to be hereafter described and in providing a rod or shaft made in sections, connected by rigid couplings, and

having ball-and-socketjoints at intervals, in order to give the necessary flexibility, which extends under each car, and can be rotated by being connected to one of the axles of the locomotive or tender by mechanism under the control of the engineer, and also by hand, from any desired point on the train, and which, when rotated, will, by means of suitable selfregulating tension-spools. thereonv and chains connected thereto, operate the mechanism which connects the friction-clutches and sheaves on the axle of each car, and thereby cause the simultaneous application of all the brakes on the train; second, in the construction of the mechanism for connecting one of the axles of the locomotive or tender to the longitudinal rod, for rotating the same; third, in the construction of the self-regulating ten: sion-spools on the longitudinal rod; fourth, in a peculiar combination and arrangement of mechanism for rotating the longitudinal rod by. hand; fifth, in the mechanism for connecting the friction-collars on the axle of the car to the sheave or drum on the said axle; sixth, in the method of applying the brakes to a single can, v

In the accompanying drawing, A showsthe under side of the body of a tender having our improved brake mechanism applied thereto. B and B are the front and hind trucks. G G are the brake-beams upon the hinder truck, which beams are connected together by the usual lever P and rod N. {y y 31y are the brakeshoes. D is the forward axle of the front truck, upon which axle is placed the mechanism under the control of the engineer for r0 practice, the axle which rotates the longitudinal rod will be any of the axles of the locomotive or tender, and theaxle which carries the sheave or drum for applying thebrakes will be one .of the axles of each car, the principle of our invention being to provide each car with independently-acting mechanism for applying the brakes on each car, and to provide means for operating this mechanism on all the cars simultaneously from any single point on the train.

-'H is a rod, which extends longitudinally under the body of each car, and is supported under the same in any proper manner, so as to rotate freely. It has universal joints at suitable intervals, which give it the necessary flexibility, so that it will accommodate itself to the movements of the train. The dilfereiit sections of the rod, when the cars are coupled together, are connected by square ends and sockets, (shown in Fig. 6,) in which a" shows the sleeve or socket, and b the squared end of the rod, sothat a rigid connection is made between the rods on all the cars. Each section under each car has upon it a loose spool, L, and two fixed collars, V V, one on each side of the spool. These collars turn with the rod, and bear against the ends of the spool, which are provided with friction-surfaces of wood or leather. The spool consequently turns with the rod until the tension, by the chain S, is so great that the friction-surfaces slip on each other. By means of a nut, R, upon the rod the friction between the collar V and the spool can be regulated, so as to cause the spool to resist any strain upon it which may be desired to insure the application of the brakes. An indie-rubber pad is introduced between the end of the spool and the collar V, and by its elasticity compensates for the wear of the friction-surface, so that the friction is always maintained the same.

'lhese adjustable tension-spools are an important feature of my invention, for the reason that, by means of the adjustment, each spool can be adjusted for the tension required to apply the brakes to the car under which it is placed, which tension varies with the weight of the car, and by the slipping of the spool the mechanism willf be prevented from being injured by the continued rotation, of the rod. Moreover, when a number of cars, each of which requires a different tension or strain to cause the application of the brakes, are coupled together to make upa train, each spool will;

on the first application of the brake mechanism, adjust itself to such a position on the rod E that the brakes on all the cars ofthe train will be simultaneously applied thereafter.

A cord or chain, S, is attached to the spool, L, which operates the lever O, and causes the application of the brakes, as will hereafter be described The mechanism for rotating the rod H by connecting it with one of the axles of the locomotive or tender is constructed asfollows: Upon one of the axles of the locomotive or tender, as at l), is keyed the pinion K, which gears with the pinion K on the rodfH, both beveled so as to form a miter-gear. The pinion K turns loosely on the rod H, butcan be connected with the same so as to turn it by means of the flanged collar 1, feathered upon the rod. Between the flanged collar and the face of the pinion K is a friction-pad of leatherfl.

A collar, '0, keepsthe pinion K in place and prevents it from being thrown back from the pinion K by its movement of rotation. The

rod H bears in ajournal, f, in a T-box, e, up on the axle D, as shown in Fig. 2. The col lar I is brought against the pinion K by means of the clutch h sliding on the rod H, which clutch is provided with an anti-friction surface at its bearing upon the hub of the collar I. The clutch It is operated by a lever, 03, under the control of the engineer by suitable connections. This lever is pivotediu the bar U, attached at one end to the T-boxe, and at the other to a ring, 1, on the shalt H, placed between the collars k k. lever is operated the strain is borne by the collar It, so that the shaft His prevented from binding in the T box. l 1

On bringing the collar I against the face of the pinion K the friction between the two opposedsurfaces causes the collar to turn with the pinion and the yod is thereby rotated, causing the tension-spools on the rod on each section under a carto turn andmove their re spective levers 0, thereby causingthe sheaves to be brought into connectionwith the axles on which they are placed, and producing the simultaneous application of all the brakes. 1

Instead of so arranging the pinions that they always turn with the axle on which one of them is placed, they might be so arranged as not to receive motion fromlthe axle unless connected with the same by the engineer for the purpose of, applying the brakes, and the construction of this mechanism may beother wise varied withoutdeparting from the prin ciple of my invention, which is the rotation of the rod by the axle of the locomotive or tend er, at the will of the engineer. It is obvious When the l necessary movements of the car.

that there are various methods of accomplishing this result. When the lever O is opera-ted by the rotation of the tension-spool on the rod H, as described, the rotation of one of the axles of the car is made to cause the application of the brakes by means of the following-described mechanism: Upon the axle D is a loose sheave or drum, E, and on each side of thisdrum or sheave is a collar, F F, feathered on the axle,

soas to rotate with it, but capable of sliding laterally on the axle. Each of these collars F F is flanged, and has a suitable friction-surface atits bearing againstthe end of the sheave or drum. The collars-are brought against the sheave with force sufficient to cause it to rotate by friction by means of the forked bent levers m m on each side of the sheave, provided with the friction rollers a a.

the ends of these levers nearly meet and rest against the'extremity ofthe lever O. A spring, 8, keeps the extremity of the lever 0 from pressing against the ends of the levers mm; but on the retraction of the chain S by the rotation of the spool L the end of the lever O forces the ends of the levers m m out, so that the sliding collars on each side of the drum orsheave are brought against it, and by friction cause it to rotate with the axle, and wind up the chain attached to the brake-beams.

The link or hook p, from which the frame G is suspended, permits the clutch mechanism to have the necessary lateral motion on the axle, and to accommodate itself to the movements of the axle. The friction-rollers n n permit the bent forked levers to slide up and down freely on the ends of-the drum, with the One end of the chain M is attached to the sheave, and the other to the lever P.

Proper means are provided for lubricating the sheave, so that when the collarsF F are disengaged from it the axle will rotate freely in the loose sheave.

The chains of the ordinary hand-brake mechanism are attached to the lever P, and the brakes can, therefore, be applied in the usual manner by hand. Our invention can be used without interfering with the use of the hand-brakes.

Means are provided for applying all the brakes on the train simultaneously by rotat- Y keeps the pinrons disengaged, except when it The levers m m are pivoted to a frame or bar, G, suspended from the car by alink or hook,p. As shown in Fig.3,

is necessary to turmthe rod. Another pinion, 1), on the axle d gears with a pinion, a, on the shaft of an ordinary brake-wheel, A, as

shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The end of the shaft is set in a bent lever, s, (shown in Fig. 5,) which There are other methods which might be devised for turning the rod by hand. We

have described this mechanism as one method of effecting this result. 1 The brakes can be applied to a single car without the use of the rod, by means of the chain attached to the leverv O. In applying a power-brake to horse-cars this arrangement, in connection with the loose sheave and friction-clutch mechanism, may be made use of.

We are aware that a sheave or drum, loose upon one of the-axles of a car. and made to r0- tate with the same by means of friction-clutches at each end, is not new in railroad-car brakes. We therefore do not claim the same as our invention; but

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. .The combination of the following elements,-viz a sheave or drum, loose upon one of the axles of a car; suitable frictionclutch mechanism for connecting said sheave with the axle, so that it will rotate with it; brakebeams connected to said sheave, a rod extending longitudinally under the car, and having thereon a loose spool and fixed friction-collars, as described; mechanism for rotating the rod by means of one of the axles of the locomotive or tender, and also by hand; and devices by means of which the rotation of the rod is made to cause the application of the friction-collars on the axle to the sheave or drum, and thereby operate the brakes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A rod, H, extending longitudinally under the car, provided with square ends and sockets for rigidly connecting together rods under different cars, and with universal joints at suitable intervals, and a loose spool, frietionally-connected to the rod, in combination with mechanism by means of which the rod can be rotated by one of the axles of the loco-- motive or tender, at the will of the engineer, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the rod H, the axle D, beveled pinions K K, friction-pad t', collars I o k k, sleeve 1, lever to, and bar a, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of the axle D, T-box e, journal f, rod H, and clutching and gearing devices, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. v

5. The combination of the rod H, sliding axle d, bevel-gears '0 I) and a b, upright shaft 01,, and hand-wheel A.

6. The combination of the rod '11, pinion a, beveled pinions b b, sliding rod d, pinion a, spring I, shaft a, lever s, and brake-wheel A, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

7. The combination of the axle D, sheave or drum E, bifurcated levers m m, collars F F, bar G, and lever O, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

' 8. The combination of the lever 0, spring 8, chain S, and spool L, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination of the frame or bar G and link or hook p, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

T0. The combinationiof the spoolL, collars 0 '0, rubber pad 0, rod H, and nut 70, subscribed, sheave E, axle D, and brake-beams O U and their connections, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

- ALBERT F. GUE.

GEORGE F. FIELD.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL SNOW, ALEX. L. HAYES. 

